Vainuupo Avegalio

I am a retired United States Army Veteran. I am a self-taught amateur mixed media artist and poet. My art and poetry focus on my experience while serving during multiple tours to Afghanistan and other undisclosed regions of the world as well as my daily struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). I try to bring the chaos of war and raw trauma from the battlefield to canvas and paper with vivid color, texture and word play.

I started dabbling in art during my last two years in the military while receiving treatment for wounds and undergoing therapy sustained during my time in service. I used art and poetry to communicate the things I could not speak about. My art was originally noticed by the USO Arts Program Manager Ashy Palliparambil, Warrior Writers Non-Profit Founder Lovella Calica, Frontline Arts Instructor Elli Wright and Community Building Artworks Founder Seema Reza while I was attending an art workshop during my treatment.

My art has been housed and solo exhibited by several notable art galleries including The Workhouse Art Center in Virginia, The Torpedo Factory in Maryland, Pyramid Atlantic Art Center in the District of Columbia, and Original Thinkers Film Fest in Telluride. I have been a featured poet at the Kimmel Center For The Performing Arts, Torpedo Art Factory and Stanford University, just to name a few. Currently I spend the majority of my time holding free workshops, teaching art, and poetry to at-risk youth, first responders, current and former inmates, and active-duty Soldiers and veterans.

Press about Vainuupo Avegalio (AV):
The HBO Documentary "We are not done yet" features AV.
More information on the film is available here.